The DIY Spirit -- DIY 精神，改造USB充電器

這是 2014-03 的英文作業，藉由一個 DIY 故事來練習英文寫作。

簡單的說，DIY 有時可以不惜破壞或是不計成本，但如果要以低成本的方式對某個東西進行方便實際又可逆的改造，就不只是考驗手作功力，同時也是腦力的挑戰。

以下就不逐句翻譯，如果不打算看英文的話，希望看圖說故事也能讓你了解這個故事。最後補上的後記，就是屬於「不惜破壞」的部份了。

(2015-10 發文)

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The DIY Spirit

When talking about “the DIY Spirit”, what will come to mind? You might have various ideas. While most would agree that “the DIY Spirit” does not simply refer to home decor, car maintenance, or pipes and plumbing repairs. For me though, the most charming DIY activity is to make things more convenient using ordinary materials, especially when adapting things for new purposes. Below is an example from me recently.

Nowadays, we have more and more devices powered or charged by USB ports, so that we have to bring many USB adapters with us when traveling. One solution for this is the power adapter with multiple USB ports like this, which has four USB ports in one power adapter.
Or this, also has four USB ports.
This is another USB power adapter from Buffalo, having two USB ports on one side for Apple devices and two on the other side for Android devices. It can output up to four amperes as compared to the two amperes for the previous devices.
There is yet another power adapter that is also equipped with four USB ports with a total of two amperes. It has an additional function to stop charging automatically after two, four, six or eight hours.
Apart from those, I also found a power adapter designed in Taiwan that is able to supply a total of six amperes. Paying little attention to its different shape, I bought this power adapter from that “crazy” shopping site. Almost immediately after I got it, I found the location of its AC plug is so impractical since I could not put it on an multi-outlet extension cord without occupying the nearby outlets. / amp(s)
The second day, instead of returning it, I decided to adapt it. After surveying in my tool box for a few minutes, I found two materials that fitted my needs. One was a female AC plug.
Another was a damaged power adapter.
Firstly, I trimmed the unwanted part of the female plug and drilled two holes on the side.
Secondly, I mounted two wires on the female plug and tested if the plug mated correctly through the two newly added holes on the side.
Next, I dissembled the damaged power adapter, kept the lower half of the housing with the AC plug, removed the unnecessary part of the housing, and soldered the other ends of the wires to it. (N.B. If you try this, remember to add insulation protection on the solder points).
The final step was to fit these parts together. In order to make no permanent modification, I simply held them together by two rubber bands. After that, I found it was much more robust than I expected.
The whole process including surveying the materials took me less than two hours. Now I have a six ampere USB power adapter that occupies only one outlet. Looks cool!!

DIY activities like this might not be so difficult, if you have the guts to take a risk on making an irreversible modification to something, and are willing to invest the time and/or money. However, to adapt something at very low cost and also keep it reversible will very likely become a real challenge. From time to time, I challenge myself with some DIY missions like this, and my motto is “Enjoy the process and enjoy the outcome”. That’s “the DIY Spirit” for me.

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後記

幾個月後，還是換殼改裝了這個 USB 充電器。

After couple of months, an irreversible modification has been made that replaced the housing.

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